![]() ![]() Crazy parties were held, and the bar became known for its offbeat but tasteful decorations during the holidays. The Spijker was everything Avi and Peter had dreamed of. However, an exception was sometimes made for the restaurant. Tuesday came to be known as “Spijker Day”. Eyewitnesses from that period remember customers queuing up outside the Spijker in lines that stretched as far as the canal. This proved to be such a success that beer for a guilder became a regular feature in Tuesdays. When the Spijker opened on April 15, 1978, beer was sold for one guilder as a promotional stunt. In the back of the restaurant floor there were (and still are) cruise toilets and (for convenience) a tiny dark room. Tom of Finland was spotted here with his close friend Rob, from the shop with the same name. The U.S.-style Sunday brunches were a huge success, the Bloody Mary’s outstanding, served with stalks of celery sticking out. Upstairs, at the front of the building, a small restaurant was hammered in. Down in the cellar the bar looks very much as it did then, pool table in the back, TV in the upper right-hand corner above the bar, and the open fire opposite. Avi claims to know every nail in the bar. While Avi and Peter moved in upstairs at Kerkstraat 4, they completely refurbished the two lower levels. It was a great place to hang out, a great place to have. TVs showing porn, a pool table and hot cruising. The Spike in New York was everything the couple thought a gay bar should be. ![]() On one of their many trips to New York, Avi and Peter were very impressed by one particular bar: The Spike. Kerkstraat was the center of gravity in gay Amsterdam in the 1970s, and Avi and Peter decided to buy the property at number 4. A building at the beginning of Kerkstraat had been on the market for years. However, one of Avi’s dreams was to have his own bar. Business flourished and the couple enjoyed a sparkling life filled with travel, fun and hard work. The couple bought Hotel Orfeo near Leidseplein and transformed it into a gay hotel. But if I really really like you, and you treat me good, then we'll see.The story of the Spijker starts in the late 1960s, when two men met in the notorious DOK disco on Koningsplein.Ī blond Dutch hunk, Peter Königshausen, chased Avi Ben-Moshe, a gorgeous Israeli in his early twenties. And I don't need to be naked to make a good cocktail. We do feel more powerful in a group rather than men who like to lone wolf-it up, so an organization like LUPEC is really helpful.Īnd conventional wisdom holds that women have better palette than me. Women don't always have the aggressive attitude to get far up, for fear of being perceived as a "bitch" or "pushy". But like most industries, when you get to the top level, it is mostly the men who are deemed "professional" and "masters". The perception is that women get pretty far based on their looks and gender behind the bar. I know a lot of boys are jealous of LUPEC. Or because I am a girl in the first place, in these fancy nancy vest and mustache type bars. I am pretty sure I have lost out on jobs and better shifts because I am not the cutest girl behind the bar. There is a fair amount of objectification that goes on on both sides of the bar. It is complicated isn't it? Can you imagine if they tried to do this competition with women? I am sure there is a place for a competition like that.maybe in Vegas or on the Jersey Shore during Spring Break? Then I was pissed that I didn't get to judge this competition. Then I was horrified at the casual exploitation of these poor boys. My first instinct was to be pissed off that it seemed like no women were included in this competition. Honestly, I do not know how I feel about this. Carlo Romero and Robert Kane get close as they create their all-natural signature cocktails at the Stirrings Naked Bartender Competition. ![]()
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